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Sunday, April 18, 2004

DECISION TIME
Story by David Dillon
What Dallas brings to the table
So after concluding that Dallas is failing on many of the most basic dimensions, why did Booz Allen assert that its report also provides an optimistic view? The report sized up the citys strengths as tremendous natural advantages. Addressing its structural problems would allow the city to better capitalize on those assets.

The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS AT THE TIPPING POINT:

The report outlines a path toward creating a more workable city, one that serves the basic needs of all its residents, and a more livable city, where people want to be because it is satisfying, exciting and enriching. An obvious place to start is the City Charter, the operating manual for municipal government. Drafted during Herbert Hoovers presidency, the charter is ill-equipped to cope with current challenges, the report concluded. Back in 1931, Dallas was a sleepy Texas city of 260,000 people with a regional economy and a predominantly Anglo population. Today, it is home to 1.2 million people, a minority-majority hub operating in a global economy. In spring 2002, right after she was elected, Mayor Laura Miller established a Charter Review Commission to study the issue. Charter review is Dallas political shorthand for Who runs City Hall? an elected mayor with executive powers, or a professional manager who oversees all major departments and sets the agenda for the council? The commission worked diligently for the better part of a year and delivered a set of modest recommendations to the council. Changing the charter would require the council to call an election and put the changes in front of voters. The recommendations never saw the light of day. A lot of people are going to be disappointed that were not making any radical changes, commission member Julie Lowenberg remarked at the time, but I dont think were ready for that. o o o OR MAYBE WE ARE. DALLAS Morning News polls in 2002 and 2003 showed Dallas residents preferring a strong mayor to a professional manager 2 to 1. Such a radical change may be just what Dallas needs, suggested Robert Behn of Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government. After such a structural break, people will be discombobulated enough to do some things differently. But Booz Allen said that who runs the government is less important than having a workable government to run. In the consultants view, Dallas is arguing over who drives when the spark plugs are fouled, the gears are stripped and the wheels are falling off. The report laid out nine principles that should undergird a new charter, including a strategic plan, clearly defined roles for the council and the chief executive, and rigorous performance measurements. Simple ideas, straight from Government 101, but lacking in Dallas. Either [the council-manager or strong-mayor] model can work, the report said, so long as the operations of

aced with high crime, low student test scores and stubborn joblessness, Dallas recently rolled up its sleeves and went to work. It hired a marketing firm. I dont think theres been near enough control over the brand impression, said Stan Richards of the Richards Group, which is trying to give Dallas a new image. Dallas rarely misses an opportunity for a swipe of marketing rouge. But the Booz Allen report stressed that in 2004, the city needs more than myths and makeovers. It is time for fundamental changes in Dallas strategy, structure and services. The changes wont be quick or painless. But they are achievable; other cities have made them.

Deja vu all over again

Many findings and recommendations in Booz Allens report echo other analyses of Dallas strengths and challenges, some going back almost 40 years.

Goals for Dallas, 1966

City Government: Keep the council-manager form but review it regularly to assure that it is sufficiently representative and responsive. Public Safety: We should strengthen each of those agencies charged with the responsibilities of assuring public safety. Education: Every Dallas child should have the very best education possible in a school system which ranks with those of the highest quality in the nation. Economy: Both the human skills and physical resources of our community [must be used] to attract new enterprise and develop existing resources and institutions.

Real estate: Dallas has about 17 percent of its land mass available for development* the largest share of any peer city, with the possible exception of Phoenix.
*Land available for development excludes government-owned land, public open space, nonprofit land, parking lots and roads.

Geography: Dallas enjoys a midcontinent location, benefits from the historic Sun Belt migration and is well placed as a trade hub for the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The Dallas Plan, 1994

People: Dallas has a vibrant high-income community, with two-thirds of the population living in ZIP codes where the average per capita income exceeds the U.S. average; an upwardly mobile immigrant population; and a population that is optimistic about the city and strongly entrepreneurial. Neighborhoods: Preserve, strengthen and revitalize the foundation of community. Economic Development: Leverage resources to attract new businesses and support expansion of existing businesses. The Southern Sector: Strengthen southern Dallas as an economically competitive and desirable place to live and work. The Trinity River Corridor: Protect and develop the Trinity River Corridor to become Dallas new front yard, a nature park and a recreational and economic asset.
SOURCES: Goals for Dallas; The Dallas Plan

Transport: Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, major rail connections and access to eastwest and north-south interstate highways give the city an enviable transportation infrastructure.

SOURCES: Booz Allen Hamilton analysis, Dallas Central Appraisal District 2002

to $15 a square foot quickly soared to more than $200 a square foot, pricing out every arts organization except the Dallas Museum of Art which did pick up cheap options. A district that might have been substantially completed in 10 to 15 years is now barely half finished after 25. Todays City Council is congratulating itself for having chosen five priorities to guide the citys efforts over the next few years. Mr. Benavides said he welcomes even that rudimentary step because it will help him fend off impulsive demands to pursue this or that initiative of the moment. But Ms. Miller acknowledged that one set of general goals, adopted by one council, is a bit like a house of cards. We have a very short shelf-life, and we have very different ideas about how things should be done, she said. And so, every two years, you could have a very different council that goes running off in a different direction. The most sophisticated strategic plan wouldnt necessarily prevent that, but it would provide a platform for a wide-ranging discussion about where the city should be going and why. Neither a laundry list nor a purely conceptual document, like the now-defunct Dallas Plan, it would be built around specific goals and pragmatic ways of achieving them. The council and city staff would have to be involved in the birthing process or else the plan would lack advocates and defenders. Given the citys dearth of planning expertise, outside advisers also probably would play a key role. The benefits would be not only liberation from crippling budget-to-budget thinking but, as success builds upon success, a slow rekindling of public trust in city government. o o o STRATEGIC PLANS ARE COMPLEX documents, touching nearly every aspect of urban life. A strategic plan for Dallas should focus on three crucial issues, Booz Allen suggested: improving the quality of life, attracting more middle-class families, and addressing the citys underfunded liabilities. Although Dallas says it runs like a business, it doesnt follow one of the basic principles of a successful business investing in its core assets. Large infrastructure bills in areas such as water mains, storm sewers and streets will be coming due within the next two decades, Booz Allen said. The city also needs maintenance, as in money, to cover the pension plan for its municipal employees. As of 2002, the last reporting year, Dallas system was underfunded by $2.1 billion, near the bottom among its peer cities. On quality of life, respondents to the 2003 Dallas Morning News Poll identified crime, public education and economic development as the most important issues in the city. Two of those crime and economic development are on the councils priority list. Questioned about the third, council members fell back on their habitual response: We dont control the schools. But Dallas needs a comprehensive program to address all these shortcomings precisely what it lacks now, Booz Allen said. Addressing only the politically expedient elements of the strategy will likely fail, Booz Allen warned. Each part of the eco-system needs to be improved or the broken parts will overwhelm the improvements. Without that, the city will always struggle to retain middle-class families with children. To attract new middle-class residents, Dallas needs to create a living environment that can compete effectively with the suburbs and a business environment that attracts and retains anchor employers, the report said. The courtship of the middle class is not only a theme of the Booz Allen report but a priority for every major city in America. Bringing those families inside the city limits means improving housing, transportation and basic services. Anyone who doubts the importance of getting the basics right should consider the words of Alfred S. Chuang, the founder, chairman and CEO of the software company BEA Systems Inc., based in San Jose, Calif. BEA could just as easily be located somewhere else, he told a civic gathering recently in San Jose. Seattle, Shanghai, even San Francisco. But were not, were firmly rooted right here. San Jose is the safest city in America. Here, the needs of neighborhoods are not secondary to the needs of industry. The needs of families are not secondary to

the city government are transparent and, most importantly, questions of who does what are clearly resolved. Former Phoenix Mayor Skip Rimsza seconded that thought. All over, there are strong-mayor and council-manager cities that work, he said. I always say, Take the form you have and make it work. Its a way overrated discussion item. Among other virtues, a charter that clarifies responsibilities and lines of authority at City Hall might re-engage a business community frustrated by the lack of both. Ms. Miller said in an interview that she intends to have a charter election in May 2005. In preparation, she said, the council will study the Charter Review Commissions recommendations, and council members will bring forward their own ideas. She said she will propose a switch to strong-mayor government, to become effective after she leaves office. Any change could be a hard sell to the council. During an interview with five council members, it was clear they were unaware of her plans. Some also suggested that the charter is just fine, and that problems arise only when officials ignore it. Its effectiveness is based on those in

office following what the charter defines as roles and responsibilities, said council member Lois Finkelman. And when council members overstep those roles and responsibilities, then the lines get muddied. o o o DALLAS IS THE ONLY PEER CITY without a strategic plan, which lays out crucial long-term objectives, explains how to achieve them, and carefully measures the results. It is an indispensable tool for accommodating change without lapsing into chaos. Without a general plan, governing the city would be impossible, said Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon. Because of the certainty it brings, the general plan has become a critical component for residents and businesses, not just government. What City Manager Ted Benavides calls his strategic plan is basically a wish list of vague objectives (Create employment opportunities for economically disadvantaged persons) instead of a pragmatic policy document (Create 5,000 new jobs in the southern sector by 2006). As a result, Dallas development tends to be impulsive and scattershot, favoring high-profile, big-fix projects

such as arenas, sports stadiums, convention centers and cultural districts, at the expense of small incremental fixes, the connective tissue, that holds neighborhoods and cities together. Were all so jaded over here that we wouldnt know a good strategic plan if it fell on us, said one planning official who spoke on condition of anonymity. There is no commitment to a long-term vision that puts pieces in place to fit with other pieces that may come along five and 10 years from now. We just dont have enough staff dedicated to the long view, added City Council member Veletta Forsythe Lill. And because of that were more zoningoriented than planning-oriented. A number of Dallas institutions have paid dearly for the lack of a long-term strategic vision. The downtown Arts District, for example. In proposing the district in the late 1970s, renowned planner Kevin Lynch begged the city to snap up and bank every available piece of land to get the kind of district it wanted, at a price it could afford. The city refused on the grounds that it wasnt in the development business, and therefore shouldnt compete with private enterprise. Consequently, land that might have been acquired for $10

WHAT THE CITY COUNCIL SAYS

Here are excerpts from interviews with Mayor Laura Miller and the six City Council members who participated in The Dallas Morning News briefings on the findings of the Booz Allen report. Do I think the report is off base? No. I dont think its off base. Dallas may have had a tipping point several years ago, and we did move toward more favorable things. The momentum currently experienced could be decelerated if this report appears too negative about Dallas. I think their whole premise that Dallas is at the tipping point is inaccurate. I think we may have been at some kind of a less-defined tipping point a number of years ago, but I think in the last four or five years, for the most part with a few exceptions, the trends are positive and the future is positive. I think youre one cycle behind. There are tremendous positive things happening in Dallas, Texas, today that are not being covered. I believe I know where were going and its the right direction. Were on the verge of some very good things happening. I think thats the difference between what youre suggesting and what Im suggesting. Youre suggesting were on the verge of a decline, according to the verbiage in this report. Im suggesting thats not the case.

Mayor Laura Miller

Whats not working is our city manager. Ive been on record for a long time about that.

Bill Blaydes

Mitchell Rasansky

Veletta Forsythe Lill

Lois Finkelman

After I read the document, I felt strongly that the city is finally moving in the right direction.

Elba Garcia

Gary Griffith